I have been trying for several months to lose body fat through diet and exercise. All that time I was trying to avoid the inevitable calorie counting that seems so gruesome and time consuming. Well, here I am, no weight lost, accepting the fact that I must reduce the amount of food I consume in order to get results since nothing else has worked. How do I know how many calories I (personally) need to consume in a day in order to lose fat, but not starve myself?
I calculated my BMR as someone who responded to one of my other posts suggested I do, however I think their equation was incorrect because other sources on the internet indicate so. Which brings me to my next question, is subtracting 500 from my BMR really the amount of calories I should be consuming to lose weight, as that same person suggested? I calculated my BMR to be 1253. Subtracting 500 would mean that I would be expected to live off of 700 some calories a day!!! Not only would I lose weight, I would starve to death. So I am really questioning this person's advice. The website which I used to calculate my BMR also gave me a figure for my total energy requirements per day= 1629. What does this mean in relation to my BMR? () The website doesn't really explain that part that well. Is there a better way to find out how many calories I should be consuming in order to lose weight?
Also, I started weight training and even increased the weight in the last week to get better results. I was thinking that if I continue to build muscle tone (rather than just doing cardio to burn fat) that it would help burn fat/calories at rest, as that is what I have heard and read. In order to build muscle, I read you must eat more calories than you expend in a day. But in order to lose fat, you must consume less calories than you burn. So I am confused as to what the right course of action is for me. I am not a body builder, I just thought that increased tone would help get rid of the fat. Does that really mean I should be eating more? I am satisfied with my current level of fitness and muscle tone, however I am still struggling to get rid of this excess body fat.
I calculated my BMR as someone who responded to one of my other posts suggested I do, however I think their equation was incorrect because other sources on the internet indicate so. Which brings me to my next question, is subtracting 500 from my BMR really the amount of calories I should be consuming to lose weight, as that same person suggested? I calculated my BMR to be 1253. Subtracting 500 would mean that I would be expected to live off of 700 some calories a day!!! Not only would I lose weight, I would starve to death. So I am really questioning this person's advice. The website which I used to calculate my BMR also gave me a figure for my total energy requirements per day= 1629. What does this mean in relation to my BMR? () The website doesn't really explain that part that well. Is there a better way to find out how many calories I should be consuming in order to lose weight?
Also, I started weight training and even increased the weight in the last week to get better results. I was thinking that if I continue to build muscle tone (rather than just doing cardio to burn fat) that it would help burn fat/calories at rest, as that is what I have heard and read. In order to build muscle, I read you must eat more calories than you expend in a day. But in order to lose fat, you must consume less calories than you burn. So I am confused as to what the right course of action is for me. I am not a body builder, I just thought that increased tone would help get rid of the fat. Does that really mean I should be eating more? I am satisfied with my current level of fitness and muscle tone, however I am still struggling to get rid of this excess body fat.
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